Systems and methods for managing and using prepaid purchasing accounts

ABSTRACT

The present invention extends to managing prepaid purchasing accounts and depositing funds therein. A kiosk and management system are connected over a network. The management system maintains purchasing accounts usable for multiple product or service purchases. To make a deposit, the consumer enters credentials at the kiosk, the credentials identifying a purchasing account. The consumer selects a payment method for making the deposit. For one or more payment methods (e.g., electronic check payment), the consumer selects a method to guarantee the deposit. The consumer also enters a deposit amount which is verified. Cash payments may be verified by an automated cash acceptor or a retail attendant. Credit card or debit card payments may be accepted by a card authorization network. Embodiments of the system also include debiting the purchasing account by a purchase amount. In addition, the purchasing account can be managed to view prior deposits and purchases.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/064,276, filed Feb. 23, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No.7,478,747 and entitled “Retail Sales and Dispensing Fuel ManagementSystem,” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/548,066, filed Feb. 26, 2004, and entitled “FUEL MARKETINGSYSTEM”, each of which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the purchase of goods and services and,more particularly, to payment for goods and services using a prepaidpurchase account.

2. The Relevant Technology

At the majority of retail locations that sell petroleum, food, generalmerchandise, and other consumer products and services, a variety oftraditional forms of payment are accepted, including cash, check, creditcard, and debit card payment. Unfortunately, there are security andhandling costs, fees, charges, and losses associated with each of theseforms of payment.

For example, where cash is an accepted form of payment, associated costsand losses normally include the cost of the cashier being hired,trained, and supervised; accepting cash; giving back change (includingtoo much change); pocketing money; and end-of-shift or other audits. Inaddition, attendants who accept cash may worry about cash shortages andmay operate under the threat of being fired for such shortages.

Additional costs result from security. Such costs include, for example,capital outlays for safes and related security equipment, and costs forcounting money, placing funds in the safe, theft losses (either in storeor en route to a deposit), preparing deposit-slips, traveling to thebank, and bank service charges.

Credit card and debit card payments also include various similar andother costs. For instance, costs to the vendor include cashier costs,capital outlays for equipment and software, chargeback fees, cardnetwork fees, and rejected or bad card (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, etc.)fees.

The acceptance of checks includes many similar costs and fees as areassociated with cash, as well as additional costs and fees. Forinstance, additional fees associated with accepting checks include thirdparty check verification and guarantee fees, losses due to insufficientfunds, collection costs (administrative, managerial and legal), cost ofattendants accepting checks, inconvenience of slow lines due tocustomers preparing checks at the checkout stand, and adding checkamounts for deposit slips. E-checks, however, are not subject to atleast some of the costs and losses associated with in-store handling;however, the risks of losses due to insufficient funds and third partyverification and guarantee fees still apply.

To reduce some of the costs normally associated with the checkoutprocess, automated checkout systems may be employed. In this manner,automated checkout systems may reduce costs such as labor costs andpotentially speed up the checkout process. However, cash outlays forcash acceptor machines at each checkout location, maintenance costs onthese machines, the cost of loading change into the machine, and theusual costs of handling, securing, and banking money remain. Further,the use of traditional checks are not well suited for automated checkoutsystems, so checks must either be eliminated as an acceptable paymentmethod, or an attendant must be present to accept the check payment. Ifaccepted, the usual costs associated with check payments remain.Further, the fees, software, and equipment costs associated with creditcard and debit card acceptance also remain.

When a credit card, debit card, check, or other type of payment is made,an attempt is often made to ensure that the purchaser is authorized touse the payment method. For instance, an attendant may require agovernment issued or other photo identification to verify the name onthe check or credit card is the same as that presenting the card orcheck for the purchase. Similarly, when a debit card is presented, theuser may be required to enter a confidential PIN number forauthorization.

In addition, current payment methods are limited to payment at the timeof the transaction. Accordingly, such forms of payment are accepted foronly one purchase at a time. As a result, the costs associated withaccepting cash, checks, and credit/debit cards applies to eachindividual purchase. As a consequence, costs and fees (e.g. security,handling, transaction, banking, etc.) borne by vendors and retailers fortank-at-a-time fuel purchases and individual food, merchandise, orservice purchases paid for at the time of the purchase are greater thanwould be the associated costs and fees for a single payment sufficientfor multiple fill-ups and multiple food, merchandise, or servicepurchases.

Additionally, merchants have typically not had a means for providingcustomers with recordkeeping tools to manage and keep automated recordsof purchases made with more than one form of payment (e.g., cash,checks, credit and debit cards). Depending on the form of payment somerecordkeeping devices may be available, such as, for example, bankstatements, online banking web sites, and credit card invoices. Inaddition, some petroleum companies offer credit card and fleet cardsthat provide recordkeeping services, but require a consumer to make allfuel purchases using the card. Further, merchants are typically chargedfor this service. However, no single recordkeeping device is availableto customers who use multiple forms of payment at different times.

Although in some instances, means have been devised that reduce the costof accepting traditional forms of payment, merchants pass the remainingcosts, fees, charges, and losses on to their customers in the form ofhigher prices. Accordingly, as a result of present technology, customarypayment methods used for fuel and other product or services purchasespass on the costs to the consumer and consumers are required to pay morefor products and services than would otherwise be necessary if thecosts, fees, charges and losses necessary with traditional paymentmethods were either reduced or eliminated.

Further, traditional forms of payment do not provide a mechanism forpaying for more than one purchase at a time which, if available, couldlower costs by spreading fees and costs over multiple purchases. Inaddition, typical payment mechanisms do not provide consumers with theability to track purchases, establish budgets, and manage funds in asingle, convenient interface for multiple payment methods. Accordingly,what would be advantageous are systems, methods, and computer programproducts that would further reduce or eliminate the monetary overheadassociated with the acceptance of traditional payment methods, allow forthe payment of multiple purchases at a time, and/or consolidatepurchasing information into a manageable and convenient format forrecordkeeping purposes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing problems with the prior state of the art are overcome bythe principles of the present invention, which are directed towardsmethods, systems, and computer program products for allowing andmanaging the payment for sales of products and services.

A prepaid purchasing account is established and is maintained by anaccount management system. Embodiments of the account management systemcan include network (e.g., Internet) based payments into the prepaidpurchasing account, either from a kiosk or from a personal computer. Ata kiosk (e.g., located at a gas station, supermarket, restaurant,discount store, etc.), for example, account credentials are receivedthrough a user interface and correspond to a purchasing account. Thepurchasing account may be stored in a database at a retail location orat a remote account management system.

The kiosk submits the account credentials (e.g., across the Internet) tothe account management system. The management system receives theaccount credentials from the kiosk. The account credentials may indicatean account holder's attempt to access an account to make a deposit, tomake a purchase against the balance of the purchasing account, or toreview the account status or history. Based on the account credentials,the management system identifies the corresponding purchasing account.Thereafter, the purchasing account can access account records andhistory, accept deposits into the account, and/or debit the account by apurchase amount.

To make a deposit and credit the purchasing account, an account holderestablishes the account holder's identity. Establishment of the accountholder's identity may include receiving account credentials from theaccount holder (e.g., at a kiosk or personal computer). Representativeaccount credentials may include a user-id and/or passcode. Thereafter, aform of payment is selected as a means of depositing funds into anaccount.

Alternatively, biometric identifiers may be obtained at the kiosk orpersonal computer and used as account identifiers. For instance, afingerprint, palm print, retinal scan, or photograph may be taken whenan account is created, so as to obtain corresponding biometricidentifiers. Such identifiers may be stored in the purchasing accountand verified each time the account holder attempts to make a purchasefrom the account, or even to make a deposit into the purchasing account.

Payments may be made in response to a deposit request received from theaccount holder. Suitable methods for payment include electronic check(ACH) transfer, credit card payment, debit card payment, or a cashpayment received by an attendant at a retail location or received at acash acceptor kiosk. Where an electronic check is selected as the formof payment, an account holder may be required to guarantee payment ofthe deposit amount. A guarantee may be provided by any of a variety ofsuitable methods. For instance, the credit message may not be processeduntil the e-check clears, thus funds may be guaranteed by not beingimmediately available. Alternatively, the electronic check deposit maybe guaranteed by a credit card or other pre-approved credit instrumentwhich provides a fund (e.g., an interest bearing savings account) thatcan be drawn upon if the electronic check fails to clear. As anadditional option, the account holder may establish a suitable creditrating with the account management system. For instance, a suitablecredit rating may be established by completing an acceptable number ofelectronic check deposits. In yet another alternative, the accountholder may guarantee the electronic check payment by submitting theelectronic check for third party verification and authorization. In suchan alternative, the account holder may also be required to consent tothe fees charged by the third party for such verification andauthorization, such that the deposit amount is reduced by acorresponding amount (or an approximation thereof). Except in the latteralternative (i.e., submitting an electronic check for third partyverification and authorization), an account holder pays no costs or feesassociated with the electronic transfer, because the associated costsand fees are either minimal or nonexistent.

Where a credit card or debit card is selected as the form of payment, anaccount holder may be required to consent to, and pay, any fees (or anapproximation thereof) charged by the credit card or debit card issueror authorization system. The deposit may then be reduced by the amountof such fees.

Where cash is selected as the form of payment, an account holder may berequired to consent to, and pay, any fees (or an approximation thereof)associated with the transfer of funds using cash accepted by a cashieror by a cash acceptor machine by consenting that the amount of thetransfer be reduced by the cost thereof, or by a standard transactionfee.

Where a deposit is to be made, the kiosk or personal computer may alsoreceive an indicator which represents an amount to be credited to thepurchasing account. The indicator may be a value entered by the accountholder, automatically calculated by a cash acceptor, or authorized by acredit card or debit card issuer. The kiosk may also verify the depositamount by receiving an authorization for the deposit. The authorizationmay be a code or message from an attendant at a retail location, or fromthe management system, a cash acceptor, an issuer of a credit or debitcard, or from a third party. Thereafter, a credit message is sent to anaccount management system (or to a local database) which indicates thatthe purchasing account is to be credited by the verified amount.

In some embodiments, when the account management system receives accountcredentials, the account management system obtains the account balanceof the corresponding purchasing account and transmits the accountbalance to the kiosk. In some embodiments, the kiosk configures apetroleum product dispenser (e.g., a gasoline pump) to dispense apetroleum product based on the account balance for the purchasingaccount being sufficient. The kiosk receives an indication of an amountof the petroleum product that was dispensed at the petroleum productdispenser. The kiosk calculates the cost of the dispensed petroleumproduct. In other embodiments, the kiosk calculates the amount of apurchase made at a checkout kiosk or point of sale scanning system, orreceives an indication of the amount of a purchase from the checkoutkiosk or a point of sale scanning system which calculates a purchaseamount.

The kiosk sends a debit message (e.g., across a network) to the accountmanagement system. The debit message indicates that the purchasingaccount is to be debited by the calculated cost of either the petroleumproduct dispenser or the checkout or scanning system. The managementsystem receives the debit message from the kiosk. The debit messageindicates to the management system that a specified amount in services,merchandise, or petroleum products was purchased against the balance ofthe purchasing account. The management system debits the purchasingaccount by the specified amount in response to receiving the debitmessage.

The account balance in a purchase account may be sufficient to pay formultiple purchases, such as, for example, multiple tanks of gasoline (asopposed to tank-at-a-time purchases) or multiple purchases of productsor services (as opposed to single, smaller purchase transactions).

The management system compiles and organizes the information received,providing categorized listings of purchases that may include itemspurchased (e.g., gasoline); the purchase date and time; the place ofpurchase; the amount of a purchase; quantities in gallons, pounds, orother similar measurements; and types of purchases (e.g., “regularunleaded,” “produce,” or “hardware”).

In some embodiments, the account management system allows the transferof funds between purchase accounts. In some additional embodiments, theaccount management system also include remotely monitored andcontrolled, attendant-free checkout payment completion, fuel dispensing,pump/street sign price changing, electronic message board management,real-time sales monitoring, and data collection and bookkeepingsummarization, each potentially reducing overhead associated withselling products and services.

These and other features of the present invention will become more fullyapparent from the following description and appended claims, or may belearned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of thepresent invention, a more particular description of the invention willbe rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention willbe described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example computer architecture for managingpurchasing accounts and managing the dispensing of petroleum products;

FIG. 2 illustrates a second example computer architecture for managingpurchasing accounts and the dispensing of petroleum products;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart of a method for dispensingpetroleum products;

FIG. 4 illustrates a suitable operating environment for the principlesof the present invention;

FIG. 5A depicts a fuel dispenser and corresponding kiosk, according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5B, 5C, and 5D depict various user-interface screens that can bepresented at the kiosk in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A depicts a checkout register and corresponding kiosk, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B-6D depict exemplary user-interface screens that can be presentedat the kiosk in FIG. 6A; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method for adding funds to a purchasingaccount through a kiosk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The principles of the present invention provide for managing paymentsfor products and services. A kiosk or personal computer receives accountcredentials (e.g., through a user-interface) corresponding to apurchasing account. The kiosk submits the account credentials (e.g.,across the Internet) to a management system.

The management system receives the account credentials from the kiosk.The account credentials indicate an account holder's attempt to make apurchase against the balance of a purchasing account, to make a depositto add to the balance of the purchasing account, or to review accountinformation and history. The management system identifies acorresponding purchasing account based on the received accountcredentials. The management system accesses purchasing accountinformation for the corresponding purchasing account from an accountdatabase.

In one embodiment, the kiosk receives purchasing account information,including an account balance, from the management system. In the case ofa petroleum purchase, the kiosk configures a petroleum product dispenser(e.g., a gasoline pump) to dispense a petroleum product based on theaccount balance for the purchasing account being sufficient. In the caseof a purchase for other consumer products, the kiosk configures a pointof sale scanning system to allow checkout of items based on theavailable account balance for the purchasing account being sufficient.The kiosk receives an indication of an amount of the petroleum productthat was dispensed at the petroleum product dispenser or the prices ofproducts scanned by a point of sale scanner or checkout kiosk. The kioskcalculates the cost of the dispensed petroleum product or the total costof scanned products.

The kiosk sends a debit message (e.g., across the Internet) to theaccount management system. The debit message indicates that thepurchasing account is to be debited by the calculated cost. Themanagement system receives the debit message from the kiosk. The debitmessage indicates to the management system that a specified amount inpetroleum or consumer products, or in services, was purchased againstthe balance of the purchasing account. The management system debits thepurchasing account by the specified amount in response to receiving thedebit message.

Embodiments of the product management system can also include networked(e.g., Internet) based payments into a purchasing account, either from akiosk (either inside or outside a retail location) or from a personalcomputer. Consumers can pay for larger quantities of petroleum products,such as, for example, multiple tanks of gasoline, in a single payment,potentially reducing or even eliminating returned check losses and/orcard network fess associated with “tank-at-a-time” purchases.Embodiments of the products management system can also include remotelymonitored and controlled attendant-free fuel dispensing, pump/streetsign price changing, an electronic message board management, real-timesales monitoring, and data collection and bookkeeping summarization,each potentially reducing overhead associated with selling products andservices.

Embodiments within the scope of the present invention includecomputer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executableinstructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readablemedia may be any available media, which is accessible by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer system. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise physicalstorage media such as RAM, ROM, EPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother media which can be used to carry or store desired program codemeans in the form of computer-executable instructions, computer-readableinstructions, or data structures and which may be accessed by ageneral-purpose or special-purpose computer system.

In this description and in the following claims, a “network” is definedas one or more data links that enable the transport of electronic databetween computer systems and/or modules. When information is transferredor provided over a computer network or another communications connection(either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless)to a computer system, the connection is properly viewed as acomputer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection is properly termed acomputer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general-purpose computer system or special-purposecomputer system to perform a certain function or group of functions. Thecomputer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or evensource code.

In this description and in the following claims, a “computer system” isdefined as one or more software modules, one or more hardware modules,or combinations thereof, that work together to perform operations onelectronic data. For example, the definition of computer system includesthe hardware components of a personal computer, as well as softwaremodules, such as the operating system of the personal computer. Thephysical layout of the modules is not important. A computer system mayinclude one or more computers coupled via a computer network. Likewise,a computer system may include a single physical device (such as a mobilephone or Personal Digital Assistant “PDA”) where internal modules (suchas a memory and processor) work together to perform operations onelectronic data.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may bepracticed in computer network environments with many types of computersystem configurations, including, personal computers, laptop computers,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, network PCs, minicomputers,mainframe computers, kiosks, computerized fuel dispensers, PDAs, and thelike. The invention may also be practiced in distributed systemenvironments where local and remote computer systems, which are linked(either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by acombination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a computernetwork, both perform tasks. In a distributed system environment,program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storagedevices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computer architecture 100 for managingthe sale of products and services, dispensing of petroleum products,and/or creating a purchase account. Generally, computer system 101 andkiosk 116 are communicatively coupled via network 114. Network 114 canbe a Local Area Network (“LAN”), Wide Area Network (“WAN”), or even theInternet. Computer systems connected to network 114 can receive datafrom and send data to other computer systems connected to network 114.Accordingly, computer system 101 and kiosk 116, as well as otherconnected computer systems (not shown), can create electronic messagesand exchange electronic messages (e.g., Internet Protocol (“IP”)datagrams and other higher layer protocols that utilize IP datagrams,such as, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Hypertext TransferProtocol (“HTTP”), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (“SMTP”), etc.) overnetwork 114. In some embodiments, computer system 101 and kiosk 116include Web services that create Simple Object Access Protocol (“SOAP”)envelopes, for example, including eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”)instructions, and exchange SOAP envelopes over network 114.

Computer system 101 includes management module 102 that can generallymanage purchasing accounts accessible by a retail sales location.Management module 102 can also control the dispensing of fuel at aplurality of different retail sales locations, where each retail saleslocation has one or more kiosks and/or one or more fuel dispensers.Management module 102 includes sign-up module 103, financial module 104,account details module 105, general information module 106, andauthorization module 151. Sign-up module 103 can be utilized to create anew purchasing account (e.g., account 108) for a consumer that willpurchase fuel at one or more of the retail sales locations. Sign-upmodule 103 can include a local interface such that an administrator ofcomputer system 101 can enter new account information for a consumer.Alternatively, sign-up module 103 can include a remote (e.g., Web-based)interface such that a consumer with connectively to network 114 canenter their own account information.

To create a new account, a consumer or administrator can enter accountcreation information, such as, for example, name, address, and telephonenumber. After an account is created, the account can be assigned anaccount number, a user-id, and a passcode (e.g., a password or PersonalIdentification Number (“PIN”)). In some embodiments, a telephone numberis used as the user-id. The user-id and passcode can be propagated tothe consumer using virtually any communication mechanism, such as, forexample, paper mail, electronic mail, or telephone. In otherembodiments, a biometric identification of the user can be obtained andused as the user-id and/or the passcode.

Management module 102 can interoperate with database 107 to store newlycreated accounts in database 107. Database 107 can be configured tostore individual consumer accounts, such as, for example, accounts 108and 109. Generally, an individual consumer account can hold fundsbudgeted for future purchases for an individual consumer. A purchasingaccount may be a general or lump sum account which is usable to purchaseany type of product or service available at a participating retaillocation. Alternatively, a purchasing account may include sub-categoriescorresponding to specific products or services. For instance,sub-category 110 in account 109 may be budgeted with funds usable foronly specific product or service purchases (e.g. fuel, car wash, food).Database 107 can also be configured to store fleet accounts, such as,for example, fleet account 111. As depicted, fleet account 111 furtherincludes sub-accounts 112 and 113.

Generally, a fleet account can hold funds in one or more sub-accountsthat are budgeted for future fuel purchases by one or more correspondingvehicle operators or budgeted for one or more vehicles. A fleet accountcan include a master account that is controlled by a fleet accountadministrator and a sub-account for each driver or vehicle in the fleet.The administrator of the master account assigns a PIN and vehicle ordriver number to each sub-account. Fuel purchases made using thesub-account are recorded both in the account history of that sub-accountand in the history of the master account. Thus, there may be a number ofuser-ids and passwords associated with a fleet account. In addition,each sub-account may also have one or more sub-categories similar tosub-categories 110 and 115. For instance, a sub-category in asub-account may create restrictors that limit the user's purchases tospecific retailers or even to specific fuel types (e.g., octane levels).

A horizontal sequence of three periods (an ellipsis), before, between,and after accounts 108 and 109 and fleet account 111 represents thatother accounts can be included in database 107. A vertical sequence ofthree periods (a vertical ellipsis) before, between, and aftersub-categories 110 and 115 represents that other sub-categories can beincluded in account 109, while a vertical ellipsis before, between, andafter sub-accounts 112 and 113 represents that other sub-accounts can beincluded in fleet account 111.

Financial module 104 can be configured to receive locally and/orremotely entered payments into an account (e.g., transmitted in creditmessage 148) and to receive locally and/or remotely entered debits to anaccount (e.g., transmitted in debit message 146). Financial module 104can interoperate with database 107 to credit and debit the balances ofaccounts, sub-categories, fleet accounts, and sub-accounts stored indatabase 107, such as, for example, accounts 108 and 109, sub-categories110 and 115, fleet account 111, and sub-accounts 112 and 113. Financialmodule 104 can also be configured to access card and/or checkauthorization networks for the verification of received accountpayments. Financial module 104 can also be configured to receive debitmessages from kiosks and debit corresponding accounts, or to receivecredit messages from kiosks and credit corresponding accounts. Financialmodule 104 can monitor transactions in essentially real time.

Account details module 105 can be configured to retrieve accountinformation, such as, for example, name, address, telephone number,account balance, list of recent purchases, etc., from database 107.Account details module 105 can send retrieved account information (e.g.,in an electronic message) to other computer systems, such as, forexample, kiosk 116, other kiosks at the same retail location as kiosk116, kiosks at other retail locations, or to other personal computersconnected to network 114 (e.g., a consumer's business or residencecomputer system).

General information module 106 can be configured to provide generalinformation related to the management system, such as, for example,contact information for a management system administrator and a listingof retail locations that support the management system. Generalinformation module 106 can also be configured to send and/or activatemarketing and advertising at a kiosk during fueling.

Authorization module 155 can be configured to receive account holdercredentials for a purchasing account, such as, for example, a user-idand password, attempt to authenticate the credentials, and authorizeaccess to the purchasing account when appropriate. In response toauthorization, financial module 104 can access financial information fora purchasing account and/or account details module can access otheraccount information. Accessed financial and/or other account informationcan sent to a requesting computer system, such as, for example, a kioskor other computer connected to network 114. If a kiosk (e.g., kiosk 116)is requesting access to debit an account (e.g., to allow a purchase),financial module 104 can check the balance of a purchasing account todetermine whether or not the purchasing account has a sufficient accountbalance to make a purchase. If the balance is sufficient, computersystem 101 can send the account balance and/or an indication that theconsumer is authorized to make the purchase to the requesting kiosk.

In one embodiment, kiosks are positioned near, attached to, or mountedin fuel dispensers or payment registers. For example, kiosk 116 can bephysically positioned near to fuel dispenser 127. Kiosk 116 includesprocessor 121, memory 118, touch screen 122, card swipe 123, key pad124, and printer 126. Generally, kiosk 116 receives account holdercredentials (e.g., at touch screen 122, key pad 124, or input component117, for example, an external keyboard) and submits the credentials tocomputer system 101. Kiosk 116 can also be configured to activate one ormore fuel dispensers, such as, for example, fuel dispenser 127. Forexample, in response to receiving an indication that a purchasingaccount has a sufficient balance to purchase fuel, kiosk 116 canactivate fuel dispenser 127.

Kiosk 116 can also be configured with a card swipe 123 for readingcredit and/or debit cards and network connection capabilities forinquiring with card authorization networks for card approval. Thus,consumers that do not have and do not want to create a purchasingaccount can still dispense fuel, or the card authorization network canbe accessed to add funds to a purchasing account.

Printer 126 can be used to print purchasing account information andreceipts for purchases.

Fuel dispenser 127 includes processor 128, dispenser configurationmodule 129, and external configuration detector 131. Externalconfiguration detector 131 can detect the external configuration of fueldispenser 127, such as, for example, detecting whether or not a fueldispensing nozzle is currently secured to fuel dispenser 127 anddetecting the selection of a specified grade of fuel. Processor 128 canreceive commands from kiosk 116 and from external configuration detector131, can process received commands, and can instruct dispenserconfiguration module 129 to change the internal configuration of fueldispenser 127 (e.g., to pump fuel from an appropriate underground tank).

For example, in response to an activating command from kiosk 116,detecting a fuel grade selection, and detecting that a fuel nozzle hasbeen removed from fuel dispenser 127, dispenser configuration module 129can internally configure fuel dispenser 127 to dispense the selectedgrade of fuel. When fueling is complete, for example, when externalconfiguration detector 131 detects that the fuel nozzle has been securedat fuel dispenser 127, fuel dispenser 127 can indicate the amount offuel that was dispensed to kiosk 116.

FIG. 5A depicts a fuel dispenser 504 and corresponding kiosk 506. Asdepicted in FIG. 5A, kiosk 506 includes card swipe 501 for swipingcredit and debit cards, key pad 502 for entering a user-id and PIN, andtouch screen 503 for presenting a user-interface and receiving userselections, an internal printer (e.g., printer 126) for printingreceipts, and receipt slot 508 for providing printed receipts to aconsumer. Fuel dispenser 504 can also be equipped with an interface 509for receiving paper currency.

FIGS. 5B, 5C, and 5D depict some of the user-interface screens that canbe presented at the kiosk 506 of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5B depicts a payment typeselection screen that gives a consumer the option to select a form ofpayment from among ATM or debit card, credit or check card, debit from apurchasing account, or pay with cash. FIG. 5C depicts a fuel gradeselection screen that gives a consumer the option to select a grade offuel. The fuel grade selection screen can be displayed after a form ofpayment has been selected. After selecting a fuel grade, a consumer canremove the appropriate nozzle from among nozzles, 507A, 507B and 507C todispense fuel.

FIG. 5D depicts an account history screen, for example, as presented bya management system web site. FIG. 5D also depicts other informationthan that is potentially presented by the management system web site.For example, an authenticated account holder can also view and edittheir account information. An account holder or prospective accountholder can access an introduction, obtain information on how themanagement system operates, list retail locations that support themanagement system, view information about the company that runs themanagement system, contact the company that runs the management system,and receive online help. Prospective account holders can also sign-upfor a purchasing account.

In addition, an authenticated account holder can view categorizedlistings of purchases. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 5D, theaccount history may indicate the date and time on which a purchase ismade, as well as the location of the purchase. In addition, detailsabout the purchase may be included. For instance, a purchase mayindicate one or more product or service categories for the itemspurchased and optionally include a further description of specificitems. Further, a cost or pricing break down may be provided. Forinstance, a quantity (e.g. in pounds, gallons, units, etc.) may belisted along with a cost per quantity, and the total cost per item.Accordingly, it will be appreciated in light of the disclosure herein,that the account history can effectively function as a collectivereceipt system allowing a consumer to review all purchases made from thepurchasing account on a line-item basis. Further, where a retaillocation (e.g., retail location 221) is network connected to amanagement system (e.g., management system 211), which maintains theaccount information, specific purchase information may be transmittedfrom retail location 221 in a separate purchase message (not shown) orthe purchase message may be included in a debit message (e.g., debitmessage 146).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 300 for dispensingpetroleum products. The method 300 will be described with respect to thecomponents and data in computer architecture 100 of FIG. 1. While theillustrated embodiment is described in terms of dispensing petroleumproducts, it will be appreciated in light of the disclosure herein, thatthe description is equally applicable to dispensing or checkout of otherproducts.

Method 300 includes an act of receiving purchasing account credentials(act 301). For example, kiosk 116 can receive credentials 141 at any ofinput component 112, keypad 124, or touch screen 122. In someembodiments, credentials 141 includes a telephone number and PINcorresponding to a purchasing account, such as, for example, an accountstored in database 107. Such an account may be a general account for alltypes or purposes, or a purchasing account with a sub-category having abudget corresponding to fuel purchases.

It may be that kiosk 116 initially displays a screen similar to that ofFIG. 5B. A consumer can select the desired payment method by touchingthe corresponding payment method icon on touch screen 122. If a consumerselects “debit from purchasing account”, the consumer can then beprompted to enter a telephone number (or other user-id) and PIN, orprovide biometric identification identified with the purchasing account.In response to the prompts, and depending on the configuration of kiosk116, the consumer can enter a telephone number and PIN at keypad 124, ata virtual keypad displayed at touch screen 122, or at input component117. A biometric identification such as a fingerprint or palm-print mayalso be obtained at touch screen 122 or input component 117, and inputcomponent 117 may also obtain a biometric identification from a retinalscan or through some other method.

Method 300 includes an act of submitting the purchasing accountcredentials to a petroleum management system (act 302). For example,kiosk 116 can submit credentials 141 to management module 102. Themethod 300 includes an act of receiving purchasing account credentials(act 308). For example, fuel management module 102 can receivecredentials 141 from kiosk 116.

Method 300 includes an act of a identifying a corresponding purchasingaccount (act 309). For example, based on credentials 141, authorizationmodule 151 can identify an account (e.g., account 108 or 109) or fleetaccount (e.g., fleet account 111), including a corresponding sub-account(e.g., sub-account 111 or 112) stored in database 107. Thus, when theappropriate account is identified, authorization module 151 can alsoidentify the appropriate sub-account or the appropriate sub-category(e.g., sub-category 110 or 115) within an account (e.g., account 109).

Method 300 includes an act of accessing purchasing account information(act 310). For example, account details module 110 and/or financialmodule 104 can access account information (account history, accountbalance, etc.) for an account (including a sub-category) or fleetaccount (and sub-account) stored in database 107 identified bycredentials 141. Method 300 includes an act of sending at least anaccount balance to the kiosk (act 311). For example, management module102 can send account balance 142 to kiosk 116. Account balance 142 canbe the account balance of the account, sub-category and/or sub-accountidentified by credentials 141.

Method 300 includes an act of receiving an account balance (act 303).For example, kiosk 116 can receive account balance 142 from fuelmanagement module 102. Method 300 includes an act of configuring apetroleum product dispenser to dispense a corresponding petroleumproduct (act 304). For example, in response to receiving account balance142, kiosk 116 can present a grade selection screen similar to that ofFIG. 5C. A consumer can select the desired grade of fuel by touching thegrade icon on touch screen 503. In response to fuel grade selection,kiosk 116 can execute purchase algorithm 119. In one embodiment,purchase algorithm 119 is adapted for use with a fuel dispenser such asfuel dispenser 127. Accordingly, an exemplary purchase algorithm 119 isa fuel dispenser algorithm. In this manner, purchase algorithm 119 cancause activate command 143 to be sent to fuel dispenser 127. Activatecommand 143 can indicate the selected grade of fuel to fuel dispenser127.

In response to activate command 143, dispenser configuration module 129can internally configure fuel dispenser 127 to dispense fuel andexternal configuration detector 131 can detect the configuration ofexternal controls 132. If the appropriate nozzle has been removed, fueldispenser 127 allows fuel to be dispensed. The consumer can thendispense fuel into their vehicle. Upon completion of dispensing fuel,fuel dispenser 127 sends dispensing complete indication 144 to kiosk116.

As noted previously, the current method is not limited to fueldispensing systems and can be used for the purchase and checkout of anytype of product. For example, purchase algorithm 119 may be a checkoutalgorithm rather than, or in addition to, a fuel dispenser algorithm. Acheckout algorithm facilitates checkout by an integral or separate kioskin an amount equal to or less than the previously supplied accountbalance of a purchasing account.

For instance, as items are scanned or entered for checkout, thealgorithm determines the total amount of the products, including anyapplicable sales tax or other fees or costs, and compares the balanceagainst the previously supplied account balance. In some embodiments,payment entitles a consumer to a product discount (because of thereduced handling and other costs and fees), and the checkout algorithmcalculates and applies the product discount. When an item is entered orscanned which causes the total products to exceed the available balance,checkout of the item is rejected and the user notified an additionaldeposit must be made into the account to make any additional purchasesor a separate payment must be entered.

Now with continued reference to FIG. 3, method 300 includes an act ofreceiving an indication of the amount of petroleum product that wasdispensed (act 305). For example, kiosk 116 can receive dispensingcomplete indication 144 that includes the dispensed amount. Method 300includes an act of calculating the cost of the dispensed petroleumproduct (act 306). For example, kiosk 116 can calculate the cost of fueldispensed at fuel dispenser 127.

Method 300 includes an act of sending a debit message to the petroleumproduct management system (act 307). For example, kiosk 116 can senddebit message 146 to management module 102. Debit message 146 caninclude the calculated cost of fuel dispensed at fuel dispenser 127.

Method 300 includes an act of receiving a debit message (act 312). Forexample, management module 102 can receive debit message 146 from kiosk116. Method 300 includes an act of debiting the identified purchasingaccount (act 313). For example, financial module 104 can debit theaccount (e.g., account 108) or fleet account (e.g., sub-account 112)identified by credentials 141 by the cost of dispensed fuel calculatedat kiosk 116.

Thus, the computer architecture 100 facilitates pay-at-the-pumpconvenience without incurring card network fees or risk of returnedcheck losses on a per transaction basis. Accordingly, retail locationsthat utilize compatible kiosks can potentially spread the cost of cardnetwork fees and risk of returned check losses across multipletransactions per account holder. As a result, these costs and risks havea reduced impact per transaction and any increase in fuel price due tothese costs and risks is significantly reduced. Further, petroleumproducts can be dispensed attendant-free, further reducing retaileroverhead. Thus, retailers are able to offer more competitive sellingprices and yet also have higher sales margins.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second example computer architecture 200 formanaging purchasing accounts and the dispensing of petroleum. Computerarchitecture 200 depicts management system 211, computer system 202,retail location 221, and card authorization network 204 communicativelycoupled via network 201. Network 201 can be a Wide Area Network (“WAN”)or even the Internet. Computer systems connected to network 201 canreceive data from and send data to other computer systems connected tonetwork 201. Accordingly, management system 211, computer system 202,kiosks 222 and 226, and computer systems included in card authorizationnetwork 204, as well as other connected computer systems (not shown),can create electronic messages and exchange electronic messages overnetwork 201. These electronic messages can be formatted in accordancewith various communication protocols as described above.

Computer system 202 includes Web browser 203 that is configured tobrowse Web pages including Web based content, such as, for example,Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) instructions, XML instructions,audio, video, images, etc. Computer system 202 can be general-purposehome or business personal or laptop computer that has access to theWorld Wide Web (“WWW”).

Management system 211 can include any of modules previously described asbeing included in management module 102. In some embodiments, managementmodule 102 interoperates with Web portal 213 (e.g., a Web server) toprovide Web based access to the functionality of management system 211.Thus, a user of computer system 202 can direct web browser 203 (oruser-interface 223 or 227) to a network address (e.g., a UniformResource Identifier (“URI”) or Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”))associated with web portal 213 (e.g., a management system home page).

After accessing web portal 213, the user can select a sign-up link(e.g., sign-up 511 of FIG. 5D) and be taken to a sign-up page. The usercan enter account information into the fields of the sign-up page tocreate a purchasing account. Web portal 213 can forward the enteredaccount information to database access module 212, which in turn storesthe account information in database 214. Creation of a purchasingaccount can include the exchange of a number of electronic messagescollectively represented as sign-up 241. Through the sign-up page, auser can create an account (e.g., account 216) or a fleet account (e.g.,fleet account 217). As previously described, an account can includeaccount sub-categories or a fleet account can include one or moresub-accounts (e.g., sub-accounts 218 and 219).

In one embodiment, sign-up 241 includes a photographic identification ofthe account holder. For instance, where a consumer signs-up for apurchasing account at a personal computer, the consumer may upload adigital photograph. Alternatively, for sign-up at a retail location, akiosk or attached photo booth may include a camera for obtaining thephotograph. The photograph may then be transmitted to management system211, where it is stored with the purchasing account. Thereafter, when auser accesses the account information, the photograph may be displayed.Similarly, when a user attempts to make a deposit or purchase using theprepaid account, an attendant at a retail location could access thephotograph over network 211 to verify the consumer's identity.

After a purchasing account is created, the user can submit a payment (orcredit) to the purchasing account such that the purchasing account cansubsequently be used to purchase fuel. Payments can be submitted in theform of currency, a paper check or electronically, such as, for,example, electronic funds transfer (automatic clearing house (“ACH”)online check, pay pal, etc.), credit card, debit card, etc. as indicatedby payment 243.

In some embodiments, electronic funds transfers into an account can besecured using credit cards. For example, a purchasing account holder cansubmit a credit card number to management system 211. Management system211 can retain the credit card number and use the credit card number tosecure other forms of payment, such as, for example, checks andelectronic checks. Thus, when other forms of payments are submitted, thefunds from those payments can immediately be made available for apurchase (e.g., before a submitted check clears). Alternatively, a checkmay be held until collected (e.g., by having a three-business-daywaiting period).

Currency or paper checks can be processed by an attendant at retaillocation 221, an administrator of management system 211, or even at akiosk (e.g. kiosk 222 or 226) and appropriately credited to thepurchasing account.

When the form of payment is a credit or debit card, management system211 can verify the payment with card authorization network 204. Forexample, management system 211 can send authorization request 251 (e.g.,including a card number and purchase amount) to card authorizationnetwork 204. Card authorization network 204 can receive and processauthorization request 251. Processing authorization request 251 caninclude determining if the card has an available credit or sufficientfunds of at least the purchase amount. After making the determination,card authorization network 204 can return authorization response 252,indicating whether or not the payment is approved, to management system211. When the payment is approved, management system 211 can furthercommunicate with card authorization network 204 to debit the card andcredit the corresponding purchasing account.

It may be that payment 243 is of an amount sufficient to pay formultiple purchases made over various visits to one or more participatingretail locations (e.g., an amount larger that needed to for an in-storeor “tank-at-a-time purchase. Thus, the prepaid purchasing account mayhave reduced costs to the merchant because costs and fees resulting fromthe deposit method can potentially be eliminated or fixed, may becharged directly to the consumer, or fees fixed on a per-transactionbasis may be distributed over multiple purchases and transactions.

In response to receiving a payment (or some other change to a purchasingaccount), management system 211 can update the appropriate accountinformation in database 214. Management system 211 can indicate accountchanges to computer system 202, such as, for example, as update accountmessage 242. Computer system 202 can receive update account message 242and display the contact of update account message 242 at Web browser203.

A purchasing account holder with appropriate credentials can alsoinitiate transfer funds between managed accounts, sub-accounts, orsub-categories. For example, the account holder of account 216 (e.g., aparent) can transfer available funds to some other account in database214 (e.g., into a child's account). Providing a single payment used tocredit multiple accounts further reduces the fees associated with makingpurchases. For example, submitting a single credit card payment reducestotal amount of associated card fees.

As depicted, retail location 221 includes kiosk 222 and kiosk 226.Kiosks 222 and 226 can include components similar to kiosk 116 and mayboth be capable of activating fuel dispensers at retail location 221.Kiosk 226 can, in one embodiment, be in close physical proximity to fueldispensers 231 and 223 such that a purchasing account holder canactivate a fuel dispenser through kiosk 226 and then utilize theactivated fuel dispenser to dispense fuel more efficiently, or may beincluded inside the fuel pump (including account deposit and sign-upkiosks). Fuel dispensers 231 and 233 can be configured similarly to fueldispenser 127. Kiosk 222 can be located further away from fueldispensers 231 and 233, such as, for example, inside a building atretail location 221. Kiosk 222 may, for example, be located in closeproximity one or more of payment registers 234 and 235.

In some embodiments, consumers are also able to sign-up for a purchasingaccount at a retail location and/or review and update consumer'spurchasing account(s) at a kiosk or retail location. For example, aconsumer can use kiosk 222 to access the management system home page.After accessing the home page, the consumer can select a sign-up link(e.g., 511) and be taken to a sign-up page. User-interface 223 (e.g., ageneral-purpose or specialized Web browser) can present fields forreceiving account information.

The consumer can enter the appropriate account information into thepresented fields and send the account information to management system211. Creation of a management account from retail location 221 (e.g. atkiosk 222) can include the exchange of a number of electronic messagescollectively represented as sign-up 276. Generally, entering accountinformation at kiosk 222 is similar to entering account information atcomputer system 202. It may be, for example that kiosk 222 is equippedwith input component 224 (e.g., a keyboard) to make data entry moreefficient.

Purchasing account holders can also access account information through akiosk. For example, a purchasing account holder can log into themanagement system (e.g., using a user-id and PIN) at kiosk 226 or 222.Subsequently, the purchasing account holder can access an accountinformation page that causes the submission of account request 273 tomanagement system 211. In response to account request 273, managementsystem 211 can retrieve account information for the appropriatepurchasing account. Management system 211 can send the appropriateaccount information back to the requesting kiosk in account information274. Account information 274 can include the amount of purchases madeover a specified period of time, including the amount of fuel used, andprovides a purchasing account holder with information to budget forfuture purchases. Similar account information can also be provided to apurchasing account holder a computer system 202.

Purchasing account holders can also submit deposits at a kiosk. Depositssubmitted at a kiosk are processed similar to those submitted at othercomputer systems (e.g., computer system 202). For example, a purchasingaccount holder can submit a deposit from kiosk 222 to management system211, which is transmitted in FIG. 2 as payment 271. Kiosk 222 can beconfigured to accept paper currency (e.g., cash), checks, electronicfunds transfer, and credit and debit cards. Paper currency can bereceived at an appropriate interface at kiosk 222. Card and debit cardscan be received at a card swipe, for example, card swipe 501. When akiosk has Internet access or is connected to network 201, a consumer mayalso initiate an electronic funds transfer.

For instance, a purchasing account holder can submit cash or a check, inan amount sufficient for multiple purchases, to an attendant at retaillocation 221. The attendant can then utilize kiosk 222 (or some other,potentially employee only, kiosk) to submit payment 271.

Turning now to FIG. 6A, an exemplary embodiment of an attendant freekiosk assembly 600 is illustrated depicting a checkout register 604 andcorresponding kiosk 606. As depicted in FIG. 6A, kiosk 606 includes acard swipe 601 for swiping credit and debit cards, key pad 602 forentering a user-id and PIN, a touch screen 603 for presenting auser-interface and receiving user selections, and optionally forreceiving biometric information, a cash acceptor 609, a coinacceptor/return 610, and a receipt slot 608 for providing printedreceipts to a consumer.

FIGS. 6B, 6C and 6D depict some of the user-interface screens that canbe presented at kiosk 606, along with the user-interface screensillustrated in FIGS. 5B and 5D. FIG. 6B depicts a deposit methodselection screen that gives a purchasing account holder the option toselect a form of deposit payment from among ATM or debit card, credit orcheck card, electronic check, or cash. FIG. 6C depicts a user-interfacescreen for selecting a method to guarantee payment of an electroniccheck. FIG. 6D depicts a deposit amount selection screen that gives apurchasing account holder the ability to input a desired deposit amount.FIG. 6D also illustrates an optional verification code input forallowing a verification code to be entered by an attendant at the retaillocation.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a method 700 for making adeposit to a purchasing account. The method 700 will be described withrespect to the components and data in computer architecture 200 of FIG.2, and the user-interface screens of FIGS. 5B, 5C, 6B, 6C and 6D. Tosimplify the description herein, the discussion will primarily bedescribed while referring to kiosk 222 of FIG. 2, although it should beappreciated that an equal discussion is applicable for kiosk 226 and/orkiosk assembly 600 (FIG. 6A).

In addition, method 700 is described in terms of a single kiosk (e.g.,kiosk 222) which includes a range of functional features, although itmay be appreciated that multiple kiosks can be provided and some kiosksmay have less than all of the features and aspects described herein. Forinstance, a single kiosk may incorporate only checkout features (e.g.,assembly 600), or a single kiosk may be used for any or all of checkout,account sign-up, and cash acceptance functions.

In method 700, a purchasing account holder initially desires to addfunds to a purchasing account (act 701). For example, a purchasingaccount holder may desire to make a cash, electronic check, credit ordebit card, or other payment which will be credited to a preexisting,prepaid purchasing account (e.g., account 216) or to a new purchasingaccount. In some embodiments, the user enters retail location 221 tomake such a payment at a kiosk (e.g., kiosk 222), while in otherembodiments, a user makes the payment over a personal computer (e.g.,computer system 202).

It may be that user-interface 223 of kiosk 222 initially displays ascreen similar to that of FIG. 5B or 5D. Notably, screens or pages to bedisplayed by user-interface 223 may be provided by management system 211and/or kiosk 222. For instance, as previously discussed, managementsystem 211 can include web portal 213 which provides web-basedfunctionality. Thus, as an account holder uses kiosk 222, a consumer candirect user-interface 223 to network addresses associated with webportal 213. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, pages may be storedlocally on kiosk 222. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2, kiosk 222includes store pages 228 which are displayable by user-interface 223.

To make a payment, a purchasing account must first have beenestablished. Accordingly, as represented by decision box 702, it isdetermined whether a purchasing account currently exists for theconsumer. If a purchasing account exists, the answer is in theaffirmative, and kiosk 222 receives credentials of the purchasingaccount (act 705). Purchasing account credentials may be provided by theconsumer and received by kiosk 222 in any of a variety of manners. Forinstance, the consumer may enter a user-id, password, PIN, or the likeby using input component 224 (e.g., a key pad, touch screen, orkeyboard). In another embodiment, account credentials are biometric.Accordingly, kiosk 222 may, through input component 224, receivebiometric indicators of the purchasing account holder. For instance,input component 224 may be a fingerprint or palm print reader, or aretina scanner. In this manner, the biometric information obtained bykiosk 222 (e.g., fingerprint, palm print, or retinal scan), may be usedas account credentials.

Optionally, kiosk 222 then accesses the consumer's purchasing account(e.g., account 216) stored at management system 211 or retail location221 (act 705). For instance, kiosk 222 may submit the accountcredentials to management system 211 as account request 273. Managementsystem may, in turn, receive the account credentials, identify acorresponding purchasing account, access purchasing account information,and return a response to kiosk 222 as account information 274 whichindicates that the purchasing account has been identified. In someembodiments, account information 274 includes account information suchas, for example, an account balance.

Method 700 also includes an act of receiving the amount of payment to becredited to a purchasing account (act 706). For example, kiosk 222 mayreceive, through input component 224, indication that a consumer desiresto make a deposit. The user may indicate this desire by, for example,selecting a payment option such as “make deposit” 513 illustrated inFIG. 5D. The user may then select the type of payment to be used inmaking the deposit (act 707). For instance, in one embodiment, inresponse to a user indicating that a deposit is to be made, userinterface 223 displays a screen such as that illustrated in FIG. 6B. Asillustrated, a user may then select any of a variety of payment options.Representative deposit methods include, for example, payment by ATM orDebit card, credit or check card, paper check, electronic check (ACHtransfer), or cash.

As noted, one method to make a deposit payment is by using an electroniccheck. A feature of electronic checks is that payments can be submittedby a merchant without some or all of the costs or fees normallyassociated with accepting paper checks. For instance, the in-storehandling costs and losses can potentially be eliminated. Electronicchecks may, however, still be subject to risks of loss and the costs dueto insufficient funds and third party verification and guarantee fees.Accordingly, in one embodiment, kiosk 226 and/or management system 221is adapted to reduce those risks and costs by requiring the holder of apurchasing account to guarantee the funds.

In FIG. 6C, for example, is an exemplary screen which may be displayedon user-interface 223 when a user selects the electronic check paymentoption. As illustrated, payment funds may be verified by any of avariety of manners. For instance, a user may not need the depositedfunds immediately. Accordingly, the user may select to delay theavailability of the deposit amount until the electronic check clears. Inthis manner, kiosk 222 and account management system 211 allow time forthe electronic check to clear before a credit is posted to theconsumer's purchasing account. If the electronic check does not clear,then the deposit amount is not credited to the account.

Alternatively, an account holder may choose to guarantee funds with acredit card or similar pre-approved credit instrument. Under thisoption, the user can enter a credit card number as a guarantee forcredit of the deposit amount to the purchasing account and the funds canbe made almost instantly available to the user. Thereafter, theelectronic check is processed. If the payment does not clear, thedeposit may be charged to the credit card. Optionally, the depositamount is reduced by credit card processing or other fees incurred bythe merchant when the credit card is processed after the electroniccheck fails to clear.

In some embodiments, the consumer may choose to guarantee the depositamount by using an interest bearing savings account or some other fundbearing account. If such a guarantee method is selected, the funds canbe made almost instantly available to the user either in the totalamount. Thereafter, the electronic check is processed. If the paymentdoes not clear, the deposit amount may be withdrawn from the savings orother account and transferred to retail location 221 or managementsystem 211.

In yet another embodiment, a consumer may choose to verify and guaranteefunds through a third party. In this manner, the consumer can almostimmediately have funds deposited into his or her purchasing account.This method may, however, subject the merchant to additionalverification fees or costs. Accordingly, in one embodiment, theadditional fees are charged to the consumer. For instance, the consumermay be notified that the option includes additional fees. After such amethod is selected, kiosk 222 may notify the consumer of the amount ofthe fee (or an approximation thereof) and obtain consent for the fee tobe incurred. Thereafter, when the verification is completed, the depositamount is charged to the consumer by reducing the deposited amount.

Finally, an electronic check may be guaranteed by establishing asuitable transaction rating or history with the retail location ormanagement system. For instance, after successfully completing anacceptable number of electronic check transactions (either consecutiveor total), management system 211 may mark a purchasing account with a“good credit rating” or other indicator. This indicator effectively actsas a guarantee for electronic check payments in that funds becomeimmediately available to the holder of the purchasing account. Such anindicator may be passed from management system 211 to kiosk 222 uponaccessing the account (act 705). In this manner, the screen illustratedin FIG. 5C may be skipped or omitted as no additional guarantee may benecessary.

While an electronic check payment can thusly be submitted and processedwith little or no cost or fees to the merchant, an electronic check maynot be a desirable or possible payment method for some account holders.Accordingly, such account holders may make payments by any othersuitable method, although such methods may impose costs or fees on themerchant. Alternatively, such payment methods can be processed and thecosts passed directly to the consumers selecting alternative paymentoptions. For instance, where a user submits a cash or paper checkpayment, handling fees (or an approximation thereof) can be charged tothe consumer who consents to the fee reducing the deposit credited to apurchasing account. Similarly, deposits made by credit or debit card aresubject to verification and processing fees. Upon selection of a creditor debit card payment, the consumer may be notified of the correspondingfee (or an approximation thereof), and consent to a reduction of thedeposit by the corresponding amount.

Although an electronic check may be used as one acceptable paymentmethod, a variety of other payment methods may be used by a consumer whodesires to deposit funds into a purchasing account. For instance, and asdescribed above, payments may be made by submitting cash or paper checkto an attendant at a retail location or, by insertion of cash into acash acceptor, or by credit card or debit card. If such payments aredesired, the consumer may optionally be charged a fee for processing thepayment. For instance, while an electronic check can be processed withfew or no additional fees or costs to the merchant, cash, paper checks,credit cards and debit cards may result in additional fees being chargedto the consumer.

While receiving deposit information (act 706), kiosk 222 may alsoreceive an indication of the amount to be deposited (act 709). Thisamount may be indicated either before or after selecting the type ofpayment (act 707). In one embodiment, user interface 223 displays ascreen such as that illustrated in FIG. 6C. In such an embodiment, theconsumer may enter a value of the deposit amount into a correspondingfield or input region, and which is representative of the cash,electronic check, credit card, or debit card payment to be made.Alternatively, the amount may be entered automatically by kiosk 222. Forinstance, a cash acceptance interface of kiosk 222 may detect an amountof cash received and input a corresponding amount which may be viewedand verified by the consumer.

The method 700 for receiving a payment to be credited to a purchasingaccount further includes an act of verifying a payment (act 710). For acredit or debit card, for example, verifying the payment (act 710) mayinclude receiving authorization information (act 711). For instance,when a consumer swipes the credit or debit card, the deposit amount canbe sent in authorization request 261 to card authorization network 204.If the card and purchase amount are authorized, card authorizationnetwork 204 sends authorization information in authorization response262 which is received by kiosk 221. Optionally, the authorizationresponse or an authorization code is displayed to the consumer orprinted on a transaction receipt.

Similarly, verification may also occur when a cash payment is made atretail location 221. For instance, as noted, kiosk 222 may include acash acceptance interface which automatically verifies the amountreceived from the consumer. Alternatively, the consumer may make a cashpayment directly to an attendant at retail location 221. In such a case,the act of the kiosk receiving authorization information (act 711) mayinclude receiving authorization information from the attendant. Anattendant may be assigned, for example, an authorization code which isrequired for verification of a payment (act 710). The authorization codemay be specific to a retail location 221 or may be unique to theattendant, thus acting as an identification of the attendant. In thismanner, when the attendant receives cash from the consumer desiring todeposit funds into a purchasing account, the attendant may confirm thatthe payment matches the identified payment amount. Thereafter, if thepayment received by the attendant matches the identified payment amount,the attendant may enter the authorization code into user-interface 223using input component 224 or another available means. Upon receipt ofthe authorization code, kiosk 222 is authorized to transmit a record ofthe payment as payment 271 to management system 211 (act 714) and printa receipt (act 712) indicating the payment has been made. The receiptmay include acknowledgement of the deposit amount, and may also includean updated account balance received from management system 211 asdiscussed herein.

Deposits received at retail location 221 may be sent to managementsystem 211 in any of a variety of manners. For instance, as noted above,upon receipt of a payment, a record of the payment may be transmittedfrom retail location 221 to management system 211. This record ofpayment may be transmitted at or near the time the payment is received,or at a scheduled time of day such that information of various paymentsare batched together and transmitted as payment 271.

In addition, or in the alternative, retail location 221 may transmitfunds to management system 211 either at the time payment is received orat a scheduled or later time such that various payments may betransmitted as a batch. For example, at the end of a business day, abatch ACH transfer may be initiated as payment 271 which transfers fundscorresponding to the total amount of purchasing account paymentsreceived inside retail location 221. In some embodiments, records ofdeposits are transmitted from retail location 221 to management system211 and at a specified time, such as the end of a business day,management system 211 initiates a batch transfer of the deposited funds.

As further illustrated in FIG. 7, a user may not yet have a prepaidpurchasing account. Accordingly, if it is determined that a purchasingaccount does not exist for a consumer, decision box 702 is answered inthe negative. A negative answer may be indicated by receipt of aresponse from a consumer, through input component 224, which indicateslack of an existing account. For instance, a user-interface 223 maydisplay a window similar to that in FIG. 5D, and input component 224 maybe used to select sign-up 511 which indicates the lack of an existingaccount.

Upon determining that a new account is needed, the consumer can be takento a sign-up page and kiosk 222 may obtain information about theconsumer creating the purchasing account (act 716). The consumer canenter account information into the fields of a sign-up page to create apurchasing account. Entered account information can include, forexample, a first and last name, address, and telephone number. Inaddition, the account holder's biometric information may also beobtained and stored for use as a user-id and/or passcode. Thereafter,the purchasing account can be created (act 718). For instance, theinformation may be forwarded to web portal 213 of management system 211.Web portal 213 can forward the entered account information to databaseaccess module 212, which in turn stores the account information indatabase 214. Creation of a purchasing account can include the exchangeof one or more electronic messages collectively represented as sign-up276.

Account information and account credentials may also be automaticallygenerated. For instance, upon creation of the purchasing account (act718), an account can be automatically assigned an account number, auser-id, and a passcode (e.g., a password, or PIN). In some embodiments,a telephone number is used as the user-id. The user-id and passcode canthen be propagated to the consumer using virtually any communicationmechanism. As discussed above, in other embodiments, the user-id and/orpasscode is a biometric identification obtained prior to, or duringcreation of the purchasing account (e.g. a fingerprint, palm-print, orretinal scan obtained at an input component 223).

After a purchasing account has been created, the consumer can make apayment to add funds to the newly created purchasing account.Accordingly, kiosk 222 may then receive deposit information (act 706),verify the deposit payment (act 710), transmit the payment to managementsystem 211 (act 714), and print a receipt for the consumer (act 712).

Referring again to FIG. 2, upon receipt of a deposit, management system211 can receive payment 271 and process payment 271 similar to theprocessing of payment 243. After processing, management system 211 cansend payment response 272 back to kiosk 222. Payment response 272 canindicate if payment 271 was accepted and can include an updated accountbalance for the appropriate purchasing account. When submitting apayment by credit or debit card, purchasing account holders can swipetheir card or can enter the card number using input component 224. Whensubmitting an electronic check, input component 224 may include a checkscanner and/or a user may enter the electronic check information so thatit is displayed at user-interface 223.

As previously described, kiosks can be configured to accept card anddebit cards as a form of payment. Referring briefly back to FIG. 5B,when a consumer selects “Pay With Credit Or Check Card”, the consumer isthen prompted to swipe their card. The kiosk then queries cardauthorization network 204 to verify the swiped card. For example, kiosk226 can submit authorization request 261 to card authorization network204. Card authorization network 204 can process authorization request261 and return authorization response 262 to kiosk 226. Based onauthorization response 262, kiosk 226 may or may not activate theappropriate dispenser or purchase register, or may or may not indicatethat additional funds are approved for deposit into a purchasingaccount.

In some embodiments, management system 211 is also configured to monitorand control retail locations. For example, station control module 264can remotely monitor and maintain contact with kiosks at a number ofdifferent retail locations. Through remote communication with kiosksstation control module 264 can update kiosk software modules, rebootkiosks, change prices, monitor sales, and analyze software and hardware.Station control module 264 may also, for example, communicate with andmonitor and control automatic, attendant-free checkout stations (e.g.,assembly 600). Station control module 264 can also be configured tocommunicate with other networked devices, such as, for example, signs,at retail locations. For example, station control module 264 cancommunicate with signs to update fuel prices and/or displayed textremotely. In some embodiments, the desired prices and/or text is enteredat management system 211 and then a single command is issued toimplement price and/or text changes at all kiosks and signs at a retaillocation. In this manner, a variety of tasks normally undertaken byindividual retail locations can be automated and remotely controlled,thus potentially reducing overhead associated with selling products andservices.

In some additional embodiments, management system 211 is also configuredto allow an administrator of a retail location (e.g., a gas station) tomanage account and station information. For example, station managementmodule 265 allows a manager of the retail location to manage and accesslocation-specific information. For instance, a station manager can,through computer system 202 or kiosk 222 or 226, provide accountcredentials (e.g., a user-id, PIN, password) which are transmitted tomanagement system. Upon receipt of the credentials, station managementmodule 265 associates the station manager's account credentials with astation account (e.g., station account 285 or 286) which also indicatesthe station manager has an administrative role. Once recognized as astation manager, station management module 265 allows the stationmanager to track and manage attendant and employee verifications throughcomputer system 202 or kiosk 222 or 226.

For instance, the station manager may request information on paymentsreceived at the retail location, which causes the submission ofmanagement request 280 to management system 211. In response tomanagement request 280, management system 211 retrieves past informationstored in the station account (e.g. station account 285) or monitorinformation as it is being provided. Management system 211 can send thestored or real time payment information back to the requesting locationin management information 281. In this manner, as cash and checkpayments are accepted at retail location 221, station management module265 monitors the payments verified by kiosks and attendants and providesthe information to the station manager.

In addition, station management module 265 allows a stationadministrator to track and manage attendant identifications. To verifycash or check payments received at retail location 221, and as describedherein, an attendant may accept the payment and enter an authorizationcode to confirm the deposit amount, and to allow the accepting kiosk toverify the credit to a purchasing account. The authorization code may bespecific to the attendant, such that through station management module265, the station manager can create, modify, remove, or otherwise manageattendant identifications and track payments confirmed by stationattendants.

Further, station management module 265 allows a station manager to trackdeposits and deposit histories with management system 211, and otherwisemanage banking and other store information.

In some embodiments, management system 211 is also adapted to allow anadministrator of the management system to manage purchaser and stationaccounts. For instance, an administrator may supply credentials tomanagement system 211 which a client management module 266 associateswith a system administration role. The administrator can monitor creditsand debits to purchasing accounts, as well as monitor station accountsand transfer from retail locations.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention provide consumers witha computer generated account wherein funds can be placed using variousforms of payment, such as, for example, cash, checks, electronic fundstransfers, electronic check, credit/debit cards, for the use of makingpurchases. Further, the computer generated accounts can maintain acomputer generated record of available funds and past purchases. Thus,funds can be received and credited to an account before authorization tomake the purchase is made. In this manner, a purchasing account can actas a prepaid account.

In some embodiments, for example, when payments are submitted throughelectronic funds transfers and/or electronic checks, overhead (e.g.,potential for returned check loses) associated with the transaction isvirtually eliminated. In any event, any associated overhead (card fees,charge backs, attend costs, etc) can be spread across multiple purchasesthereby reducing the portion of the overhead associated with a singlepurchase. For example, a consumer can present a human attendant with acash payment sufficient to purchase multiple tanks of fuel therebyspreading the overhead associated with the human attendant (cashhandling costs, security, attendant mistakes, etc.) across the multiplepurchases.

Further, through the use of fleet accounts, a fleet accountadministrator can control the purchase of fuel through fund allocationsto various sub-accounts. Similarly, a purchasing account holder thatmanages multiple accounts can transfer funds between the accounts.

FIG. 4 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in which theinvention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention canbe implemented in the general context of computer-executableinstructions, such as program modules, being executed by computersystems. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, and the like, which perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executableinstructions, associated data structures, and program modules representexamples of the program code means for executing acts of the methodsdisclosed herein.

With reference to FIG. 4, an example system for implementing theinvention includes a general-purpose computing device in the form ofcomputer system 420, including a processing unit 421, a system memory422, and a system bus 423 that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory 422 to the processing unit 421. Processingunit 421 can execute computer-executable instructions designed toimplement features of computer system 420, including features of thepresent invention. The system bus 423 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Thesystem memory includes read only memory (“ROM”) 424 and random accessmemory (“RAM”) 425. A basic input/output system (“BIOS”) 426, containingthe basic routines that help transfer information between elementswithin computer system 420, such as during start-up, may be stored inROM 424.

The computer system 420 may also include magnetic hard disk drive 427for reading from and writing to magnetic hard disk 439, magnetic diskdrive 428 for reading from or writing to removable magnetic disk 429,and optical disk drive 430 for reading from or writing to removableoptical disk 431, such as, or example, a CD-ROM or other optical media.The magnetic hard disk drive 427, magnetic disk drive 428, and opticaldisk drive 430 are connected to the system bus 423 by hard disk driveinterface 432, magnetic disk drive-interface 433, and optical driveinterface 434, respectively. The drives and their associatedcomputer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, andother data for the computer system 420. Although the example environmentdescribed herein employs magnetic hard disk 439, removable magnetic disk429 and removable optical disk 431, other types of computer readablemedia for storing data can be used, including magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, digital versatile disks, Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs,and the like.

Program code means comprising one or more program modules may be storedon hard disk 439, magnetic disk 429, optical disk 431, ROM 424 or RAM425, including an operating system 435, one or more application programs436, other program modules 437, and program data 438. A user may entercommands and information into computer system 420 through keyboard 440,pointing device 442, or other input devices (not shown), such as, forexample, a microphone, joy stick, game pad, scanner, or the like. Theseand other input devices can be connected to the processing unit 421through input/output interface 446 coupled to system bus 423.Input/output interface 446 logically represents any of a wide variety ofdifferent interfaces, such as, for example, a serial port interface, aPS/2 interface, a parallel port interface, a Universal Serial Bus(“USB”) interface, or an Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (“IEEE”) 1394 interface (i.e., a FireWire interface), or mayeven logically represent a combination of different interfaces.

A monitor 447 or other display device is also connected to system bus423 via video interface 448. Speakers or other audio output device isalso connected to system bus 423 via an audio interface. Otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as, for example, printers,can also be connected to computer system 420.

Computer system 420 is connectable to computer networks, such as, forexample, an office-wide or enterprise-wide computer network, a homenetwork, an intranet, and/or the Internet. Computer system 420 canexchange data with external sources, such as, for example, remotecomputer systems, remote applications, and/or remote databases over suchcomputer networks.

Computer system 420 includes network interface 453, through whichcomputer system 420 receives data from external sources and/or transmitsdata to external sources. As depicted in FIG. 4, network interface 453facilitates the exchange of data with remote computer system 483 vialink 451. Network interface 453 can logically represent one or moresoftware and/or hardware modules, such as, for example, a networkinterface card and corresponding Network Driver Interface Specification(“NDIS”) stack. Link 451 represents a portion of a computer network(e.g., an Ethernet segment), and remote computer system 483 represents anode of the computer network.

Likewise, computer system 420 includes input/output interface 446,through which computer system 420 receives data from external sourcesand/or transmits data to external sources. Input/output interface 446 iscoupled to modem 454 (e.g., a standard modem, a cable modem, or digitalsubscriber line (“DSL”) modem), through which computer system 420receives data from and/or transmits data to external sources. Asdepicted in FIG. 4, input/output interface 446 and modem 454 facilitatethe exchange of data with remote computer system 493 via link 452. Link452 represents a portion of a computer network and remote computersystem 493 represents a node of the computer network.

While FIG. 4 represents a suitable operating environment for the presentinvention, the principles of the present invention may be employed inany system that is capable of, with suitable modification if necessary,implementing the principles of the present invention. The environmentillustrated in FIG. 4 is illustrative only and by no means representseven a small portion of the wide variety of environments in which theprinciples of the present invention may be implemented.

In accordance with the present invention, management system modules,kiosks modules, payment register modules, and fuel dispenser modules, aswell as associated data, including purchasing account information,payments, credits, and debits may be stored and accessed from any of thecomputer-readable media associated with computer system 420. Forexample, portions of such modules and portions of associated programdata may be included in operating system 435, application programs 436,program modules 437 and/or program data 438, for storage in systemmemory 422.

When a mass storage device, such as, for example, magnetic hard disk439, is coupled to computer system 420, such modules and associatedprogram data may also be stored in the mass storage device. In acomputer network environment, program modules depicted relative tocomputer system 420, or portions thereof, can be stored in remote memorystorage devices, such as, system memory and/or mass storage devicesassociated with remote computer system 483 and/or remote computer system493. Execution of such modules may be performed in a distributedenvironment as previously described.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges, which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims, are to be embraced within their scope.

1. At a retail kiosk that is network connectable to a purchasing accountmanagement system, the retail kiosk located at a retail location for usein purchasing items at the retail location, the purchasing accountmanagement system located separately from the retail location, theretail location having a retail account managed by the purchasingaccount management system, the purchasing account management systemconfigured to electronically communicate with the retail kiosk vianetwork communication, a method for purchasing items at the retaillocation, the method comprising: an act of the retail kiosk receivingaccount credentials corresponding to a registered user purchasingaccount for a registered user of the separately located purchasingaccount management system, the registered user purchasing account havingan account balance representing funds from previously cleared deposittransactions submitted to the separately located purchasing accountmanagement system, the previously cleared deposit transactionselectronically depositing funds into the registered user purchasingaccount, the account balance indicating previously cleared fundsallocated for direct transfer to other accounts within the separatelylocated purchasing account management system to minimize the risksassociated with settling transactions for the purchase of items withoutreference to external authorization or banking networks; an act of theretail location submitting the received account credentials to theseparately located purchasing account management system; an act of theretail location receiving the account balance for the registered userpurchasing account from the separately located purchasing accountmanagement system, the separately located purchasing account managementsystem handling purchases for a variety of different, geographicallyremote retail locations, reception of the account balance indicating tothe retail location that the registered user has an account with thepurchasing account management system such that payment for purchaseditems is to be made from previously cleared funds so as to therebyfurther indicate to the retail location the minimized risk associatedwith settling transactions involving the registered user; an act ofconfiguring the retail kiosk to permit a user transaction to purchaseitems from the retail location based on the account balance for theregistered user purchasing account; an act of the retail kioskcalculating a total cost for one or more items, including a last item,that are to be purchased, including: an act of receiving an indicationof the cost of an item; and an act of adding the cost of the item to thetotal cost for the one or more items; an act of detecting that areceived indication of the cost of an item is the cost of the last item;and an act of the retail kiosk sending an electronic message to theseparately located purchasing account management system to clear thetransaction for purchasing the one or more items in response todetecting the last item, the electronic message indicating that thecalculated total cost is to be debited from the balance of theregistered user purchasing account and the calculated total cost is tobe credited to the balance of the retail account, the electronic messageindicating that previously cleared funds are to be transferred betweenaccounts under the control of the purchasing account management systemsuch that the transaction for purchasing the one or more items iscleared electronically and internally within the purchasing accountmanagement system without reference to any external authorization orbanking networks.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: an act of receiving an indicator representative of a depositamount to be credited to the registered user purchasing account; and anact of verifying the amount to be deposited to the registered userpurchasing account.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2, furthercomprising: an act of receiving a guarantee for guaranteeing payment ofthe deposit amount.
 4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the actof receiving a guarantee for guaranteeing payment of the deposit amountincludes guaranteeing payment against a credit card.
 5. The method asrecited in claim 3, wherein the act of receiving a guarantee forguaranteeing payment of the deposit amount includes delayingavailability of funds until an electronic check clears.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 3, wherein the act of receiving a guarantee forguaranteeing payment of the deposit amount includes guaranteeing thedeposit amount against an interest bearing account.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 3, wherein the act of receiving a guarantee forguaranteeing payment of the deposit amount includes obtaining a thirdparty verification.
 8. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the actof receiving a guarantee for guaranteeing payment of the deposit amountincludes accessing a credit status of the purchasing account.
 9. Themethod as recited in claim 2, further comprising: an act of receiving apayment type from a consumer, the payment type indicating a method forreceiving the deposit amount.
 10. The method as recited in claim 9,wherein the user selects the type from a group consisting of: cash,credit card, debit card, paper check, and electronic check.
 11. Themethod as recited in claim 10, wherein the act of sending a creditmessage to the account management system comprises an act of sending thecredit message to a network address corresponding to the accountmanagement system, such that the credit message is transferred acrossthe Internet.
 12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act ofverifying the amount to be deposited comprises an act of at least one ofreceiving a verification from an attendant and receiving acknowledgementof receipt of the deposit amount.
 13. The method as recited in claim 12,wherein the attendant verification is received in response to theattendant receiving a payment in the amount to be credited to thedeposit account.
 14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the actof receiving account credentials comprises an act of receiving a user-idand password.
 15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act ofreceiving account credentials includes an act of receiving at least onebiometric indicator.
 16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theregistered user purchasing account has at least one photographicindicator stored therein.
 17. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: an act of creating the registered user purchasing accountand the account credentials corresponding to the registered userpurchasing account.
 18. At a purchasing account management system thatis network connectable to one or more computer systems, the one or morecomputer systems including one or more separately located retail kiosks,each retail kiosk controlling transactions for the purchase of items ata corresponding retail location, the purchasing account managementsystem configured to electronically communicate with the one or moreseparately located retail kiosks via network communication, a method forclearing a transaction for the purchase items at a retail location, theretail location haying a retail account managed by the purchasingaccount management system, the method comprising: an act of thepurchasing account management system receiving account credentials froma retail kiosk at a retail location, the account credentials indicativeof an intent to initiate a transaction for purchasing one or more itemsat the retail location; an act of the purchasing account managementsystem identifying a registered user purchasing account assigned to thereceived account credentials, the registered user purchasing accountpreviously registered to a registered user of the purchasing accountmanagement system, the registered user purchasing account having anaccount balance representing funds from previously cleared deposittransactions submitted to the purchasing account management system, thepreviously cleared deposit transactions electronically depositing fundsinto the registered user purchasing account, the account balanceindicating funds available within the purchasing account managementsystem to significantly reduce the risks associated with settlingtransactions for the purchase of items at the one or more separatelylocated retail locations without reference to external authorization orbanking networks; an act of the purchasing account management systemaccessing account information for the registered user purchasing accountfrom an account database; an act of the purchasing account managementsystem sending at least an account balance for the registered userpurchasing account to the retail kiosk at the retail location, theaccount balance indicating to the retail location that the registereduser has an account with the purchasing account management system suchthat payment for purchased items is to be made from previously clearedfunds so as to further thereby indicate to the retail location theminimized risk associated with settling transactions involving theregistered user; an act of purchasing account management systemreceiving an electronic message from the retail kiosk, the electronicmessage indicating a total cost of a transaction for purchasing one ormore items at the retail location, the electronic message alsoindicating that the purchase was made against the balance of theregistered user purchasing account; and in response to receiving theelectronic message, an act of the purchasing account management systemdebiting the total cost from the account balance of the registered userpurchasing account and crediting the total cost to the balance of theretail account so as to transfer funds between accounts under thecontrol of the purchasing account management system such that thetransaction for purchasing the one or more items is clearedelectronically and internally within the purchasing account managementsystem and the transaction is cleared without reference to any externalauthorization or banking networks.
 19. The method as recited in claim18, wherein the computer system is a kiosk.
 20. The method as recited inclaim 18, wherein the act of receiving an electronic message isperformed in response to an attendant at a retail location receiving acash payment.
 21. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the act ofreceiving an electronic message is performed in response to a consumerselecting a deposit type selected from a group consisting of: electroniccheck, credit card, and debit card.
 22. The method as recited in claim18, wherein the electronic message is received from the computer systemover the Internet.
 23. The method as recited in claim 18, furthercomprising: an act of receiving a request for account informationcorresponding to the registered user purchasing account; and an act ofproviding account history information to a user, the account historyproviding a history of multiple forms of payment.
 24. The method asrecited in claim 23, wherein the account history provides categorizedpurchase information, the purchase information including at least:purchase date, purchase location, purchase amount, and one or more of agroup consisting of: items purchased and quantity purchased.
 25. Themethod as recited in claim 24, wherein the act of crediting theregistered user purchasing account makes funds almost immediatelyavailable to the consumer, while the computer system guarantees paymentof the deposit amount.
 26. At a retail kiosk that is network connectableto a purchasing account management system, the retail kiosk located at aretail location for use in purchasing items at the retail location, thepurchasing account management system located separately from the retaillocation, the retail location having a retail account managed by thepurchasing account management system, the purchasing account managementsystem configured to remotely monitor and maintain contact with theretail kiosk via network communication, a method for purchasing productsat the retail location, the method comprising: an act of the retailkiosk receiving account credentials corresponding to a user purchasingaccount for a registered user of the separately located purchasingaccount management system, the user purchasing account having an accountbalance representing funds from previously cleared deposit transactionssubmitted to the separately located purchasing account managementsystem, the previously cleared deposit transactions electronicallydepositing funds into the user purchasing account, the account balanceindicating funds allocated for direct transfer to other accounts withinthe separately located purchasing account management system to minimizethe risks associated with settling transactions for the purchase ofitems at retail locations without reference to external financialnetworks; an act of the retail location submitting the received accountcredentials for the registered user purchasing account to the separatelylocated purchasing account management system; an act of the retaillocation receiving the account balance for the user purchasing accountfrom the purchasing account management system, the separately locatedpurchasing account management system handling item purchases for avariety of different, geographically remote retail locations, receptionof the account balance indicating to the retail location that theregistered user has a user purchasing account with the purchasingaccount management system such that payment for purchased items is to bemade from previously cleared funds so as to thereby further indicate tothe retail location the minimized risk associated with settlingtransactions involving the registered user; an act of configuring theretail kiosk to permit a user transaction to purchase one or more itemsfrom the retail location based on the account balance for the registereduser purchasing account; an act of receiving monitoring from theseparately located purchasing account management system to monitor theuser transaction in essentially real time to assure that the accountbalance is sufficient to pay for each item as each item is included inthe transaction so as to prevent the account balance from going below alimit; an act of receiving an indication that the transaction iscomplete, the indication being either an indication from the useraccount management system that the account balance has reached the limitor an indication from the kiosk that all of the one or more items isincluded in the transaction; an act of calculating the total cost of theitems included in the transaction; and an act of sending a debit messageto the separately located purchasing account management system inresponse to and upon completion of the transaction, the debit messagesent to directly debit the total cost of the items from the accountbalance of the user purchasing account by transferring the total costout of the user purchasing account to settle the transaction for thepurchase of the one or more items, without reference to any otherexternal authorization networks.
 27. The method as recited in claim 26,wherein the act of configuring the retail kiosk to permit a usertransaction to purchase one or more items from the retail locationcomprises an act of configuring the retail kiosk to scan items, andfurther comprising: an act of submitting a payment to the purchasingmanagement system prior to configuring the kiosk assembly to scan items,the amount of the payment being large enough to cover the price of aplurality of scanned items; and an act of receiving an indication thatthe payment was credited to the purchasing account.
 28. The method asrecited in claim 27, wherein the act of submitting a payment to thepurchasing management system comprises an act of submitting one of acredit card number, a debit card, an electronic funds transfer, and acash payment to the purchasing management system.
 29. The method asrecited in claim 27, further comprising: an act of receiving a touchscreen selection indicating that payment for one or more scanned itemsis to be debited from the user purchasing account prior to receiving theaccount credentials.
 30. The method as recited in claim 26, wherein theact of receiving account credentials corresponding to a user purchasingaccount comprises an act of receiving an account holder identifier. 31.The method as recited in claim 26, wherein the act of submitting theaccount credentials to the purchasing management system comprises an actof sending the credentials to a network address corresponding to thepurchasing management system such that the credentials are transferredacross the Internet to the purchasing management system.
 32. The methodas recited in claim 26, wherein the act of receiving an account balancefor the user purchasing account from the purchasing management systemcomprises an act of receiving an electronic message that was transferredover the Internet to the kiosk assembly.
 33. The method as recited inclaim 26, wherein the act of sending a debit message to the purchasingmanagement system comprises an act of sending the debit message to anetwork address corresponding to the purchasing management system suchthat the debit message is transferred across the Internet to thepurchasing management system.
 34. The method as recited in claim 26,further comprising: an act of submitting a request for accountinformation corresponding to the user purchasing account; an act ofreceiving account information for the user purchasing account from thepurchasing management system; and an act of presenting the accountinformation at a user-interface.
 35. At a purchasing account managementsystem that is network connectable to one or more retail kiosks, the oneor more retail kiosks separately located from the purchasing accountmanagement system, each retail kiosk controlling the purchase of itemsat a retail location, the purchasing account management systemconfigured to remotely monitor and maintain contact with retail kiosksat a plurality of different retail locations via network communication,a method for clearing a transaction for the purchase items at a retaillocation, the method comprising: an act of the purchasing accountmanagement system receiving account credentials from a retail kiosk at aretail location, the account credentials being indicative of an attemptto purchase items against the balance of a purchasing account; an act ofthe purchasing account management system identifying a correspondingpurchasing account assigned to the received account credentials, theuser purchasing account previously registered to a registered user ofthe purchasing account management system, the user purchasing accounthaving an account balance representing funds from previously cleareddeposit transactions submitted to the purchasing account managementsystem, the previously cleared deposit transactions electronicallydepositing funds into the user purchasing account, the account balanceindicating funds available within the purchasing account managementsystem to significantly reduce the risks associated with settlingtransactions for the purchase of items at the plurality of differentretail locations without reference to external financial networks; anact of accessing purchasing account information for the user purchasingaccount from an account database; an act of sending at least an accountbalance for the user purchasing account to the retail kiosk the accountbalance indicating to the retail location that the registered user has auser purchasing account with purchasing account management system suchthat payment for purchased items is to be made from previously clearedfunds so as to further thereby indicate to the retail location theminimized risk associated with settling transactions involving theregistered user; an act of the purchasing account management systemmonitoring the purchasing of items at the retail location in essentiallyreal time to assure that the account balance is sufficient to pay forthe items as the items are included in a transaction so as to preventthe account balance from going below a limit; if the account balancereaches the limit: an act of sending an indication to the retaillocation that the transaction is complete; an act of purchasing accountmanagement system receiving a debit message from the retail kiosk inresponse to and upon completion of the transaction, the debit messagefor debiting a total cost of the items included in the transaction fromthe account balance of the user purchasing account; and an act ofdebiting the total cost of the items from user purchasing account inresponse to receiving the debit message by transferring the total costout of the user purchasing account to settle the transaction for thepurchase of the items, without reference to any external financialnetworks, wherein the purchasing account management system is configuredto debit the user purchasing account for purchases made at any of avariety of different, geographically remote retail locations.
 36. Themethod as recited in claim 35, further comprising: an act of receiving apayment from a computer system, the amount of the payment being largeenough to cover the price of one or more item purchases; and an act ofcrediting the user purchasing account by the amount of the payment. 37.The method as recited in claim 36, wherein the act of receiving apayment from a computer system comprises an act of receiving a paymentfrom a kiosk assembly.
 38. The method as recited in claim 36, whereinthe act of receiving a payment from a computer system comprises an actof receiving a transfer of funds from a second user purchasing accountmanaged by the purchasing account management system.
 39. The method asrecited in claim 35, wherein the act of receiving account credentialsfrom a kiosk assembly comprises an act of receiving an electronicmessage, containing the account credentials, that was transferred overthe Internet.
 40. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the act ofreceiving account credentials from a retail kiosk comprises an act ofreceiving an account holder identifier.
 41. The method as recited inclaim 35, wherein the act of sending at least an account balance for theuser purchasing account to the retail kiosk comprises an act of sendingthe account balance to an electronic address corresponding to a retailkiosk such that the account balance is transferred across the Internetto the retail kiosk.
 42. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein theact of sending at least an account balance for the user purchasingaccount to the retail kiosk comprises an act of sending an activatingcommand for activating advertisements at a retail kiosk along with theaccount balance.
 43. The method as recited in claim 35, furthercomprising: an act of receiving a Web based account sign-up request froma computer system; an act of sending a Web based account sign-up screento the computer system; an act of receiving account information that wasentered at the Web based account sign-up screen; and an act of creatingthe user purchasing account based on the received account information.44. The method as recited in claim 35, further comprising: an act ofreceiving a request for account information corresponding to the userpurchasing account; and an act of sending account history information inresponse to the request.